TECNO PHANTOM Z REVIEW - FOR THOSE WHO KNOW!

Have you seen the Tecno phantom Z also known as the A7? Prepare to be pleasantly surprised!  I received this phone a few weeks ago and it has been my best buddy since then, well, Bobo and I have been sharing it because he absolutely loves that the FM of the phone can connect to his portable speakers, that’s something my Tecno M7 could not do. Allow me to give you a run through of the features of this phone. 

UNBOXING 

I had to wait days to do the unboxing because I didn't want to start using it before taking photos...I looked forward to the weekend that was my unboxing day! The contents include; instruction manual, earphones, usb battery charger, power bank with torch, a smart cover and a user guide.

THE PHONE DESIGN 

First of all…it is sleeeek! You can be easily disappointed with the size of the phone if you’ve been seeing photos of it on bill boards and fliers…I actually thought it was a very thick phone: those ads didn’t do it any justice….this phone is slim! I got a black one, so slick- 7.8mm...fits nicely in my hands...not too big, not too small. 

The Tecno Z has a CNC metallic finish, beautiful frame with Nano molding tech, the back cover with leather grain. The screen is scratch resistant HD Gorilla touch screen. 

The dual SIM (mini sim) tray and volume buttons are on the left side of the phone while the power button is on the right side. This reminds me of my old iphone where I’d have to use a pin usually the thin end of my earring to open the sim tray. Also like the iPhone, it doesn't have  removable battery. In my haste I proceeded to open the back of the phone to see the battery but Bobo insisted that I read the user guide...I don't like reading manuals....but thank God I listened to him, I would have broken the back cover. 

The speaker is located at the bottom right while a 3.5mm jack earphone port is just on the top right side of the phone and at the bottom centre of the phone you will find the micro USB port.

FM RADIO 

I think this is one of my favourite, most used feature on this phone. You can listen and save your favourite radio stations, you can also connect via Bluetooth or usb to external speakers – I couldn’t do this with my other phone. You can record your favourite radio shows as well and set an FM Alarm. 

SOUND 

It is powered by a Dolby Digital Sound System but for some reason I don't quite like the sound but when I use earphones or external speakers, its fine. The voice recorder also has a lot of external noise when I've tried to record. 

CAMERA 

It also has a very very good 16MP BSI back Camera with Dual Flash which is great for pictures and for recording full HD videos with great quality. I never expected that it would have a flash light in front, but it does! It’s got 8MP BSI front camera with LED flash and that is perfect for selfies in dark places! 

Photo of my nails with the Tecno Z

BATTERY LIFE 

As for battery life, the Tecno A7 comes with an impressive 3030mAh battery : 300 hours standby time and 26 hours of talk time, I cannot complain especially as it comes with a flashlight powerbank… you shouldn’t be running out of power for a long time. 

CONNECTIVITY 

The Tecno Phantom Z has wifi, bluethooth 4.0, WiFi Hotspot, USB OTG, GPS and AGPS connectivity features.It supports GPRS, EDGE and 3.75G

DISPLAY 

The super AMOLED Full HD display really is my favourite thing about this phone. My goodness, watching videos and playing games is a totally new experience…it is crisp and clear- you can’t miss anything. The first thing I did was go to my Youtube channel to play a video just to guage the quality, and I nor go lie to you, it was crisp! screen is measured at 5.2 inches with a resolution of 1080 by 1920 pixels. pixel density of 424 ppi. IPS display with Blue-glass filter, gives you bright whites and rich colors with a 16:9 cinema-like presentation. 

OPERATING SYSTEM 

The Tecno Z has in-built 2.0GHz Octa-core (8) Cortex-A7 processor: which is responsible for it’s fluid performance and seamless multitasking. It runs on an Android Kit-Kat , 4.4.2. OS which is step up from the OS used in previous phones like the R7.Android Kit-kat.

MEMORY 

The phone comes with an internal memory of 32GB but you only get about 20GBs because the android OS and apps use up the rest. It also does not give you the option of an external memory card slot so you’re stuck with the storage it comes with. To some this is a problem however I am fine with it, when will I use up 20GB? Not unless I have a high volume of media. 

PRICING 

The price range of the Tecno Phantom Z is between N53,000 - N60,000 (depending on where you purchase it) which makes it the most expensive Tecno phone available in Nigeria and Africa. For the value it brings, it does not seem like a lot to pay. 

In summary, I am simply very impressed with the Tecno Phantom Z....I never esperrred that I would!  I've spoken to other people that use the phone and they share my sentiments, the tag line is right: it's for those who know!